Bills trying for a 6th consecutive victory over Dolphins

Updated Sep. 17, 2021 11:37 a.m. ET

Associated Press

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — BUFFALO (0-1) at MIAMI (1-0)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, Fox

OPENING LINE: Buffalo by 3, according to FanDuel SportsBook

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Buffalo 0-1-0, Miami 1-0-0.

SERIES RECORD: Dolphins lead 62-55-1.

LAST MEETING: Bills beat Dolphins 56-26 on Jan. 3 in Orchard Park, New York.

LAST WEEK: Bills lost to Pittsburgh 23-16; Dolphins beat New England 17-16.

BILLS OFFENSE: OVERALL (20), RUSH (15), PASS (T-18), SCORING (T-23).

BILLS DEFENSE: OVERALL (T-3), RUSH (10), PASS (5), SCORING (15).

DOLPHINS OFFENSE: OVERALL (T-27), RUSH (T-24), PASS (27), SCORING (22).

DOLPHINS DEFENSE: OVERALL (17), RUSH (20), PASS (18), SCORING (T-7).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Bills minus-1; Dolphins plus-1.

BILLS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Devin Singletary. It’s a homecoming for Singletary, who was born in Fort Lauderdale and went to college at Florida Atlantic. He had 72 rushing yards in Week 1.

DOLPHINS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR DeVante Parker. He had four catches for 81 yards in the win over the Patriots; the 81 yards were a career high for Parker in any Week 1 contest.

KEY MATCHUP: Buffalo QB Josh Allen vs. Miami CB Xavien Howard. Two of the NFL’s best. Howard intercepted two Allen passes in a game in 2018 to fuel a Miami win; Allen hasn’t lost to the Dolphins in five matchups since.

KEY INJURIES: Miami DT Raekwon Davis (knee) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday and will miss at least three games. Miami was intending to have WR Will Fuller available for the first time; the free agent acquisition missed the opener at New England while serving the final game of a six-game suspension handed down last year when he was with Houston for violating the NFL’s rules on performance-enhancers. He practiced Wednesday, then was absent Thursday and ruled out Friday for personal reasons, the Dolphins said.

For the Bills, DT Star Lotulelei (calf) and WR Isaiah McKenzie (shoulder) are among those dealing with issues.

SERIES NOTES: The Bills are looking for a sixth consecutive win over Miami, something Buffalo has done only once before — spanning October 1987 through October 1989. ... The average score of the past five games, all Buffalo wins, has been Bills 39, Dolphins 22. ... Bills QB Josh Allen’s past five games against Miami: 96 for 145 passing, 1,321 yards, 15 touchdowns, two interceptions. ... Buffalo’s 56-26 win in the 2020 regular-season finale was the Bills’ biggest win over the Dolphins since a 58-24 romp in the teams’ first-ever meeting in 1966.

STATS AND STUFF: Buffalo is trying to avoid its first 0-2 start since 2018, which was also the same year that Miami started 2-0. ... The Bills have won six consecutive games against AFC East opponents, matching their longest such streak since winning 12 straight over the 1990 and 1991 seasons. ... Dolphins coach Brian Flores would reach the .500 mark for his coaching career for the first time with a victory. Miami is 16-17 under Flores, after starting 0-7 and 5-13. ... Buffalo threw the ball 20 times on first downs in Week 1 against Pittsburgh, getting only 90 yards on those attempts. That’s 4.5 yards per first-down throw; the rest of the NFL got an average of 7.9 yards on first-down passes in Week 1. ... Allen is 23 yards shy of 10,000 passing in his regular-season career. He’ll be the sixth QB to throw for that many in a Bills uniform. ... The Dolphins can start 2-0 against the AFC East for the first time since 2009.

FANTASY TIP: The teams combined for 141 points in their two head-to-head games last season. Might be a good week to play Dolphins K Jason Sanders or Bills K Tyler Bass. Might also be a good week to keep the Miami and Buffalo defenses on the bench.

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